Railway hopper car door locking mechanism



March 15, 1966 w. L. FLOEHR 3,240,165

RAILWAY HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Filed Nov. '7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor:

r L, Floehr 'WCLI te FIG. 2 wwM his Attorney March 15, 1966 w FLOEHR RAILWAY HOFPER CAR DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM heats-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

FIG. 5

In venfor: Walter L. Floehr Filed Nov. 7, 1961 FIG. 7

FIG. 6

his Attorney United States Patent Ofiice 3,24%,155 Patented Mar. 15, 1966 3,246,165 RAILWAY HOPPER CAR DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Walter L. Floehr, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Unitcast Corporation, Toiedo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 150,775 12 Claims. (Cl. 105308) This invention relates to door locking mechanisms for hopper doors of railway hopper cars and is an improvement on the mechanism of my copending application, Serial N0. 130,812, filed August 11, 1961.

The mechanism disclosed in the above application has a pair of cams pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the door on a shaft riding in slots in brackets fixed to the door. The cams, as the door is swung toward closed position, first engage hooks fixed to the hopper to hold the door in a preliminary position and then, by being turned in the hooks, force the door to closed position against a frame around the discharge opening of the hopper.

An object of this invention is to provide in such a mechanism means for ensuring that the door in locked position will be held securely against the frame on the hopper despite wear in the mounting of the cam means on the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism of the character described wherein the cam means carried by the door, on being disengaged from the associated hook means, are positioned to reengage the hook means on subsequent closing of the door and are positively held in that position against accidental dislodgment, particularly by lading a the latter is discharged from the hopper.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism of the character described wherein the means by which the door in closed position is held securely against the frame, despite wear in the mounting of the cam means, is of such construction and arrangement as not to interfere with operation of the mechanism either normally or when used to release a door stuck to the frame.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the improved door locking mechanism of the present invention with the door to which it is applied in closed position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational View of the structure of FIGURE 1 but with the door in a position at which the latch and catch are just in contact;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view on an enlarged scale of the structure of FIGURE 1 with portions removed to more clearly illustrate certain of the details of construction;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of one of the latches of the mechanism with the cover plate removed;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of one of the brackets for mounting the latches on the door;

FIGURE 7 is a front elevational view of the bracket of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIGURE 3 with portions removed to more clearly show certain of the details of construction.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved door locking mechanism of the present invention, designated generally as 1, has been applied for purposes of illustration to a conventional drop bottom hopper door 2 which is hinged at the top to a frame 3 fixed to and bounding a discharge opening 4 in a hopper 5 of a railway hopper car (not shown). As its name implies, such a door in closed position, in which it overlaps the sides 6 and abuts against the front face 7 of the frame 3, slopes or is inclined inwardly and downwardly from its hinging axis and on release swings downwardly by gravity to a substantially vertical position in which it remains during discharge of the lading from the hopper.

As is that of application Serial No. 130,812, the door locking mechanism 1 of this invention is adapted to hold the door 2 in a preliminary position and to enable the door thereafter to be forced or moved to closed position, the first action being automatic as the door is swung toward closed position and the second manual with the necessary force applied through the mechanism. Too, the mechanism of this invention, as well, enables a force applied through it to free or release the door in case the latter is frozen or otherwise stuck to the frame.

The mechanisms of the two applications resemble each other not only in their basic capabilities but, generally, in their structures. Thus, the mechanism of this invention includes at one and preferably at either side of the door member 2 a catch 8 fixed to one of the door and frame members and a latch 9 mounted on the other member for both rotative or swinging movement relative thereto about a substantially horizontal axis and shifting or sliding movement in a direction radial of its rotative axis and parallel to the adjoining face of the member. In the preferred construction in which each catch 3 is fixed to a side of the frame 3 and the related latch 9 is movably mounted on the door 2, the catch, like that of my earlier application, is in the form of an upwardly opening hook having a rounded nose or front end 10 projecting or extending at a side 11 and outwardly or forwardly beyond a front face 12 of the door in the closed position of the latter. The nose 1!) merges rearwardly with an upper surface or face 13 which slopes or is inclined rearwardly or upwardly from the nose and terminates rearwardly in a rounded tip 14 demarking the upper rear extremity of the hooked front end portion 15 of the catch. Opening upwardly rearwardly of and extending forwardly below the tip 14 i a preferably arcuately concave seat, cavity or socket 16 which below the nose has a rearwardly facing cylindrically concave front wall 17 merging downwardly with an upwardly facing bottom wall 18.

The preferred door-mounted latch 9 for each of the catches 8 is of generally L- or boot-shape, the normally lower leg or foot of which is a cam or lock member or element 19 having a preferably cylindrical bore or aperture 20 extending transversely through its normally rear or heel portion and surrounded by a cylindrical hub or boss 21. The normally upper leg of the latch is a positioning or locating leg or tail 22 disposed substantially at right angles to the cam and extending substantially radially from the hub.

Although, as in application Serial No, 130,812, the leg ofthe latch that interlocks with the catch is desirably of the same over-all thickness axially of the bore as the positioning leg 22, the cam or lock leg 19 of the latch of this invention is sectioned transversely into two parts or sections arranged side by side in abutting relation, one a main, outboard or outer section or part 23 and the other an inboard or inner section or part 24, integral or rigid with or fixed to and inwardly backing the outboard section. Of the two sections of the cam 19, the outboard section 23 forms the cam proper which is adapted to engage the related catch and in normal or locking position seat in the seat 16 in the catch for locking the door in closed position. Although not essential, it is preferable that the portion of the periphery of the outboard section which confronts surfaces of the seat 16 in the locking position of the latch 9 be arcuately convex and conform generally in contour to those surfaces. However, for maximum bearing and minimum wear, the front wall 26 of the toe or front portion 27 of the outboard section 23 should be a cylindrically convex surface coradial or of equal radius with the cylindrically concave front wall17 of the seat 16 and concentric or coaxial with the latter wall in the lock-ing position of the latch. Further, since, a will appear, the latch acts as a hook in holding the door in preliminary position, it is given the general shape of a hook by providing in the upper surface 28- of the outboard section adjacent the hub 21 an arcuately concave recess 29 spaced by an intervening arcuately convex protuberance 30 overlying the toe 27 from the latters front wall 26.

Designed to lie or be disposed inwardly or in-boardly of the associated catch 8-, the inner section 24 of the latch 9 i not governed, even generally, in its peripheral contour by that of the catch. Nonetheless, it is desirable for strength that the inner section 24 back or cover a substantial part of the outer or cam section 23. Consequently, although it in the main may be included withing the peripheral confines of the" cam section with its underside or bottom Wall 31 inset or disposed upwardly from the corresponding portion of the periphery 25 of that section, the inner section 24 preferably covers most of the upper portion of and is substantially coextensive longitudinally with the cam section and, with one notable exception, has the same upper surface 28. The exception is the provision adjacent the front extremity of the inner section in that sections portion of the upper surface 28 of an upwardly or inwardly opening, preferably V- shaped notch or pocket 32 conveniently backed outwardly by the protuberance 30. For the reason later to be explained, the rear wall or end surface 33 of the inner section whichmerges or intersects downwardly with the bottom wall 31 and is disposed rearwardly of the hub 21 is a cylindrically convex surface of greater radius thanbut substantially concentric or coaxial with the front wall 26 of the toe 27 of the cam section.

In addition to its two-part construction, the preferred cam leg 19 has a lug 34 integral or rigid'with or fixed to the outboard side of the toe 27 of the cam section 23 and outstanding outwardly or axially therefrom. A seat or socket 35 for receiving or seating a suitable actuating bar (not shown), is formed by the lug 34, a cover plate 36 and an extension of a shaft 37. Conveniently apertured to receive the shaft 37 and fitting into a slot 34a in the lug 34, the cover plate 36 is welded or otherwise fixed to the outer ends of theshaft and lug to prevent their spreading under force applied through the bar.

For mounting the latches 9 on the door 2, each latch receives in the bore 20 in its cam leg 19 an end portion of a shaft 37, the latter for the preferred pair of latches at opposite sides of the door conveniently being a common shaft to which the latches are fixed for movement in unison with each other and the shaft. The common shaft 37 extends substantially parallel to the hinging axis of the door, across and beyond the opposite sides or edges 38 of the doors front face 12 and is mounted on the front face for relative rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and shifting radially of that axis substantially parallel to the face, preferably by a pair of brackets 39. Each of the preferred pair of transversely or laterally spaced brackets 39 is mounted on the front face adjacent one of the latters opposite sides. The brackets are disposed intermediate or between and traddled or embraced by the latches 9 and have laterally aligned guide slots or ways 40 extending substantially parallel to the doors front face and normal to its hinging axis, for receiving and guiding the shaft in its radial and rotative movements relative to the door.

Fixed as by riveting to the door, the brackets 39 are designed to rest on the bottom flange 41 of an angle iron 42, fixed to and reinforcing the front face of the door and extending horizontally substantially thereacross, and to receive the upper or door-connected leg 43 of the angle iron in recesses 44 in their inner or confront-- ing sides 45. The opposite or outer sides 46 of thebrackets confront and are adapted to be engaged by the hubs 21 of the latches 9 for limiting or minimizing axial or lateral shifting of the latches relative to the- On their outer sides adjacent their lower ends,-

door. the brackets have generally L- or angle-shaped positioning or supporting flanges 47 projecting, extending or outstanding beyond the adjoining or contiguous edges 33 of the doors front face 12 and each axially, transversely or laterally overlapping and underlying the inner section 24 of the adjoining latch 9 but terminating short of that latchs cam section 23. Each positioning flange 47 ha a lower or outer leg 48 extending or projecting below the slot 49 substantially normal or at right angles to the front face 12 of the door and having a bevelled outer end 49 and an upper, inner or rear leg 50 upstanding substantially normally from the lower leg and abutting or lying against the front face. The lower leg 48 may be fiat over its outer portion. However, on the front face of the upper leg of each flange 47, there is provided a forwardly facing cylindrically concave shoulder or abutment 51 coradial and in the locking position of the mechanism 1 coaxial or concentric with the rear wall 33 of the inner section 24 of the related latch.

With the locking mechanism 1 constructed in the above manner, each latch 9 in looking position will have its cam or lock leg 19 projecting forwardly from the shaft 37 substantially normal to the front face 12 of the door 2 and its upper leg 22 upstanding from the shaft and disposed substantially parallel to the doors front face. Locked in that position by a locking pawl 52 or like suitable means pivoted to its bracket 39 and received in locking position in a slot 52a in the bracket, each latch will then have its cam section 23 seated in the seat 16 in the related catch with the front wall 26 of the toe 27 of that section in surface contact with and bearing against the correspondingly configured front wall 17 of the seat.

Initially, the force by which the door is held. in closed position against the force of gravity will be applied from each of the fixed catches 8 tothe toe 27 of each latch and thence through the shaft 37 to the brackets 39 and door 2. However, after some use, the wear due to the line contact between the shaft and the brackets about their guide slots 40 will produce play in the connection such that a holding force transmitted to the brackets through the shaft cannot maintain the initial tight fit or engagement between the door and. the front face 7 of the frame 3. It is then that the rear Walls 33 of the inner sections 24 of the latches and the forwardly facing shoulders 51 on the positioning flanges 47 come into play, these surfaces having surface contact from the start and, by virtue of their coradial and coaxial cylindricality, being subjected to a minimum of wear on relative move-- ment between them. Consequently, as wear creates play of the shaft 37 in its guide slots 40, the holding force is transferred from the shaft to the rear walls 33 of the: latches and therethrough to the shoulders 51 on the brackets, thus maintaining the initial fit between the. door and the frame 3.

In an opening operation, the locking pawl 52 which, for the preferred fixedly connected latches, need only be provided for one latch, is retracted to release the upper leg 22 of that latch and force is applied through an actuating bar or like lever inserted in the seat 35 in that latch between the outstanding lug 34 and extension of the boss 21, to swing the upper leg 22 of the latch outwardly away from the door. In process, each latch will pivot or turn on its toe 27 in the seat 16 in the related catch and this pivoting will continue, with the shaft 37, the while, riding upwardly in its guide slots 48 until its upper leg 22 engages the upper surface 13 of the related catch. At that point, further turning of the latch will cause it to fulcrum on the upper surface 13 and lift the lock leg 19 out of the seat 16 clear of the tip 14 at the seats upper extremity. On release of the lock leg 19 from the seat 16, the door is free to swing open by gravity. However, as it does so, the upper leg 22 of the latch 9, acting as a counterweight, will cause the latch to continue to swing in the same direction as its lock leg 19 slides downwardly along the upper surface 13 of the related catch until, as the latch loses contact with the catch, it has assumed the position shown in FIGURE 2. In that position, the upper leg, now mostly below the lock leg, is supported intermediate its ends on the bevelled outer end 49 of the lower leg 48 of the position ing flange 47 and the upper end portion of the upper leg 50 of that flange is received or seated in the notch 32 adjacent the free end of the inner section 24. Without the notch 32 in its lock leg 19, the latch might be supported in the same position on the positioning flange but, if struck accidentally by lading being discharged from the hopper 5, could readily be dislodged from that position and turned or swung even to the point where the underside 31 of the inner section 24 would rest on the lower leg 48 of the flange. However, with the latch supported at two spaced points on the positioning flange and the seating of the upper leg 51) of that flange in the notch 32 serving as a positive interflt or interlock against accidental dislodgment by any force to which the latch is likely to be exposed, the latch will remain in its initial position on the flange during the period in which the door is open.

The above description of the opening operation applies in the usual case in which the door 2 is free to move away from the frame 3 on turning of the latches 9 in an unlocking direction, the door in such case dropping to its preliminary hold position as the lock leg 19 turns in its seat 16. If, on the contrary, the door is frozen or otherwise sealed to the frame at the time it is to be opened, the mechanism 1 is designed to enable the force applied to its latches to break the door loose from the frame. In the latter case, fulcrurning of the tail 22 on the upper surface 13 of the catch 8 causes the toes 27 of the lock legs 19 to engage fixed abutments S3 at the rear of the seats 16 and. conveniently formed integrally with the catches 8. Once the door is freed from the frame, it drops to its preliminary position for release therefrom by further fulcruming of the latch on the upper surface 13.

In a closing operation, the door is swung toward closed position and, as it swings, each latch 9, positioned properly for the purpose by its positioning flange 47, will be brought to the position at which the toe 27 of its cam section 23 engages the upper surface 13 of the related catch and rides upwardly therealong toward the seat 16 therein, in process lifting the notch 32 from the upper leg 51) of the flange so that the latch is free to turn. As the cam section approaches the seat, the upper leg or tail 22 of the latch will be engaged by the nose of the catch and the consequent leverage on the latch will cause the cam section to swing downwardly, so that that section, as it clears the tip 14 of the catch, is free to drop into its seat. Thereupon, the latch, acting as a hook, will be engaged by the tip 14in the recess 29 in the upper surface 28 of the cam section and hold the door in preliminary position. Swinging of the door from that position to fully closed position is simply a matter of inserting a bar in the seat 35 on the outer side of the cam section and turning the latch in a direction to swing 6 its upper leg 22 toward. the front face of the door 2, the latch in process pivoting on the cylindrical front wall 26 of its toe against the correspondingly configured front wall 17 of the seat 16 until it has reached locking position and in process has cammed or forced the door to closed position.

The turning of the cam section 23 of each latch in its seat 16 in the related catch in both closing and opening operations is, of course, accompanied by a turning of the inner section 24 relative to the positioning flange 41 on the adjoining bracket 39. It is in this part of either operation that the substantial concentricity of the rear wall 33 of each inner section with the front wall 26 of the cam section comes into play, since it ensures that the inner section will slide without restraint on the confronting abutment 51 on the positioning flange 4-7 on the adjoining bracket 39 as the cam section pivots on its toe in its seat 16. Non-interference by the positioning flanges 47 with turning of the latches, when the rear walls 33 of the inner sections 24 and the abutments 51 on the flanges are not in confronting relation, is ensured by the preferred arcuate convexity and insetting of the under sides 31 of the inner sections.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved door locking mechanism which, among other attributes, is capable over a long service life of maintaining the initial fit between the door and the frame, in unlocking automatically positions its latch means for reengagement with its catch means and acts automatically on swinging of a door to ward closed position to hold the door in a preliminary position. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, bracket means fixed to the other member, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting substantially parallel to a front face of said other member, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation about an axis thereof, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door member in closed position, and means on said cam means and engageable in said closed position of said door member with means on said bracket means for transmitting a holding force on said door between said bracket and catch means through said cam means.

2. Locking mechanism for a hopper door member hinged to a frame member of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to one of said members, bracket means fixed to the other member, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting substantially parallel to a front face of said other member, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation about an axis thereof, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door member in closed position, and spaced means on said cam means and engageable with means respectively on said catch means and bracket means for transmitting a holding force on said door member between said catch and bracket means through said cam means.

3. Locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a hopper of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to said hopper, bracket means fixed to said door, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting relative thereto, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation relative to said bracket means, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door in closed position, and spaced means on said cam means and engageable with means respectively on said catch means and bracket means for transmitting a holding force on said door from said catch means to said bracket means through said cam means.

4. Locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a hopper of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to said hopper, bracket means fixed to said door, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting relative thereto, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation relative to said bracket means, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door in closed position, and spaced substantially concentric cylindrically convex surfaces on said cam means and engageable in the closed position of said door with cylindrically concave surfaces respectively on said bracket means and catch means for transmitting a holding force on said door from said catch means to said bracket means through said cam means.

5. Locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a hopper of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to said hopper, bracket means fixed to said door, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting relative thereto, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation relative to said bracket means, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door in closed position, flange means outstanding from said bracket means and overlapping an inner part of said cam means, and coaxial cyl indrical surfaces on said flange means and part and concentric in the closed position of said door for transmitting a holding force on said door between said bracket means and cam means.

6. Locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a hopper of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to said hopper, bracket means fixed to said door, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting relative thereto, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation relative to said bracket means, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door in closed position, flange means outstanding from said bracket means and overlapping an inner part of said cam means, coaxial cylindrical surfaces on said flange means and part and concentric and engageable in the closed position of said door for enabling a holding force on said door to be transmitted between said bracket means and catch means through said cam means, and spaced means on said flange means and engageable with said latch means on disengagement thereof from said catch means for supporting said latch means in a position to reengage said catch means, certain of said spaced means being interfittable with means on said latch means for holding said latch means against accidental dislodgment in said position on said flange means.

7. Locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a hopper of a railway hopper car comprising catch means fixed to said hopper, bracket means fixed to said door, shaft means mounted on said bracket means for radial shifting relative thereto, latch means mounted on said shaft means for rotation relative to said bracket means, said latch means including cam means seatable in said catch means for locking said door in closed position, flange means outstanding from said bracket means and overlapping an inner part of said cam means in said closed position for enabling a holding force on said door to be transmitted between said bracket means and said catch means through said cam means, and spaced means on said flange means and engageable with said latch means on disengagement thereof from said catch means for supporting said latch means in a position to reengage said catch means, certain of said spaced means being interfittable with means on said latch means for holding said latch means against accidental dislodgment in said position on said flange means.

8. In a locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a frame bounding an opening in a railway hopper car, the combination of a catch fixed to a side of said frame and projecting in a closed position of said door at a side and beyond a front face thereof, an upwardly facing seat in said catch, a bracket fixed to said front face of said door adjacent a side thereof, a latch mounted on said bracket for rotation and radial shifting relative thereto, said latch including a lock leg section-ed laterally into inner and outer sections rigid with each other, a flange outstanding from said bracket and laterally overlapping said inner section, said outer section being seatable in said seat in said catch for locking said door in closed position, a cylindrically convex front wall on said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coaxial and concentric cylindrically concave front wall of said seat, and a cylindrically convex rear wall on said inner section substantially concentric with said front wall of said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coradial and concentric cylindrically concave wall on said flange.

9. In a locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a frame bounding an opening in a railway hopper car, the combination of a catch fixed to a side of said frame and projecting in a closed position of said door at a side and beyond a front face thereof, an upwardly facing seat in said catch, a bracket fixed to said front face of said door adjacent a side thereof, a latch mounted on said bracket for rotation and radial shifting relative thereto, said latch including a lock leg sectioned laterally into inner and outer sections rigid with each other, a flange outstanding from said bracket and laterally overlapping said inner section, said outer section being seatable in said seat in said catch for locking said door in closed position, a cylindrically convex front Wall on said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coaxial and concentric cylindrically concave front wall of said seat, a cylindrically convex rear wall on said inner section substantially concentric with said front wall of said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coradial and concentric cylindrically concave wall on said flange, said flange having angularly related legs engageable at spaced points with said latch on disengagement thereof from said catch for supporting said latch in position to reengage said catch, and a notch in said inner section for receiving an end portion of one of said flange legs and holding said latch against accidental dislodgment in said last-named position.

10. In a locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a frame bounding an opening in a railway hopper car, the combination of a catch fixed to a side of said frame and projecting in a closed position of said door at a side and beyond a front face thereof, an upwardly facing seat in said catch, a bracket fixed to said front face of said door adjacent a side thereof, a latch mounted on said bracket for rotation and radial shifting relative thereto, said latch including a lock leg sectioned laterally into inner and outer sections rigid with each other and a second leg rigid with and angularly related to said lock leg, a flange out-standing from said bracket and laterally overlapping said inner section, said outer section being seatable in said seat in said catch for locking said door in closed position, a cylindrically convex front wall on said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coaxial and concentric cylindrically concave front wall of said seat, a cylindrically convex rear wall on said inner section substantially concentric with said front wall on said outer section and interfitting in said closed position with a coradial and concentric cylindrically concave wall on said flange, said flange having angularly related upper and lower legs engageable respectively with said lock leg and second leg on disengagement of said latch from said catch for supporting said latch in a position to reengage said catch, and a notch in said inner section for receiving an end portion of said upper leg and holding said latch against accidental dislodgment in said last-named position.

11. In a locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a frame bounding an opening in a railway hopper car,

the combination of a catch fixed to a side of said frame and projecting in a closed position of said door at a side and beyond a front face thereof, an upwardly facing seat in said catch, a bracket fixed to said front face of said door adjacent a side thereof, a latch mounted on said bracket for rotation and radial shifting relative thereto, said latch including a lock leg sectioned laterally into inner and outer sections rigid with each other, a flange outstanding from said bracket and laterally overlapping said inner section, said flange having angularly related legs engageable at spaced points with said latch on disengagement thereof from said catch for supporting said latch in position to reengage said catch, and a notch in said inner section for receiving an end portion of one of said flange legs and holding said latch against accidental dislodgrnent in said last-named position.

12. In a locking mechanism for a hopper door hinged to a frame bounding an opening in a railway hopper car, the combination of a catch fixed to a side of said frame and projecting in a closed position of said door at a side and beyond a front face thereof, an upwardly facing seat in said catch, a bracket fixed to said front face of said door adjacent a side thereof, a latch mounted on said bracket for rotation and radial shifting relative thereto, said latch including a lock leg sectioned laterally into inner and outer sections rigid with each other and a second leg rigid with and angularly related to said lock leg, a flange outstanding from said bracket and laterally overlapping References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,434,178 10/ 1922 Wine 105--308 1,818,689 8/1931 Campbell 105-308 2,578,231 12/1951 Dorey 105308 2,684,645 7/ 1954 Shaver et a1 105-308 2,818,032 12/1957 Dath 105309 2,888,885 6/1959 Dorey 105309 2,962,982 12/1960 Wine 105-308 2,962,983 12/1960 Ingram et al. 105308 2,970,551 2/ 1961 Dorey.

3,104,623 9/ 1963 Dorey 105309 X ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, MILTON BUCHLER,

Examiners. 

1. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR A HOPPER DOOR MEMBER HINGED TO A FRAME MEMBER OF A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR COMPRISING CATCH MEANS FIXED TO ONE OF SAID MEMBERS, BRACKET MEANS FIXED TO THE OTHER MEMBER, SHAFT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID BRACKET MEANS FOR RADIAL SHIFTING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO A FRONT FACE OF SAID OTHER MEMBER, LATCH MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS THEREOF, SAID LATCH MEANS INCLUDING CAM MEANS SEATABLE IN SAID CATCH MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID DOOR MEMBER IN CLOSED POSITION, AND MEANS ON SAID CAM MEANS AND ENGAGEABLE IN SAID CLOSED POSITION OF SAID DOOR MEMBER WITH MEANS ON SAID BRACKET MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING A HOLDING FORCE ON SAID DOOR BETWEEN SAID BRACKET AND CATCH MEANS THROUGH SAID CAM MEANS. 